A Four-Step Method to Becoming a More Focused Founder
Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash
Great leaders have purpose, integrity and energy in the way they approach work and life. We’ve written about these topics here and here, but today I want to write about another key element in the leadership toolkit: focus.
Focus is one of the hardest things to achieve as a founder or any leader who finds the need to wear many hats. That’s why as a coach, I’m fond of what has become known as the 80/20 rule or Pareto Principle, named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. The idea is that the vast majority of your productivity or results, around 80%, come from a relatively small but focused effort — around 20% — you put into something.
It stands to reason that the sooner you can get yourself doing whatever it is that constitutes that 20% of high-productivity effort, the better. A related principle that applies to focus is the law of diffusion, which says that since you only have so much time, you have to prioritize the things that matter the most. I know a client hasn’t mastered the art of focus when he or she has several big goals they’re working on at the same time. My advice is almost always to ask them to decide what’s most important and get uber focused on it; otherwise, the law of diffusion kicks in.
Diffusion works like the Sun beaming through a pane of glass vs using a magnifying lens. The former lights up a room; the latter can literally create a laser that can cut through steel!
One of my favorite books on focus is The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey. I have found it extremely helpful for achieving my personal goals and supporting my clients.
Here’s how it works:
1. Define Your Wildly Important Goal (WIG): To maintain focus, we must choose wisely from a list of our best intentions and stated goals. We must be deliberately thoughtful and strategic to define the one thing that is most important now. Ask yourself the following questions: “What’s the one goal that, when I achieve it, will make all other goals seem inconsequential? What’s the one goal that will make the biggest impact on my personal mission/vision and that will position me to achieve my other goals?”
Prioritizing your goals, and then sequencing them like domino’s (or action items on a Gantt chart) is key.
For example, one of my personal goals is to stay at, or near, my ideal weight of 175 lbs. Doing so makes it easier for me to achieve my personal aspirations and makes me feel that my goals in my professional coaching practice are also more attainable.
A good WIG is always formatted, “From X to Y by when.” For example: “I will go from 190 lbs to my ideal weight of 175 pounds by October 1, 2023.
For a business example, I recently had a client who determined that growing their revenue was the right WIG because it would allow the company to invest in infrastructure, enabling them to scale their operation. Yes, they would have to hire people, possibly move their operations and so on, but their WIG was to grow sales $5 Million to $6.2 million by December 31, 2023.
2. Identify your lead measures: Your lead measures are the drivers or high leverage tasks/activities that deliver/lead to the WIG being achieved. For example, if my WIG is to lose weight, my lead measure #1 might be to maintain a certain daily caloric intake. My lead measure #2 might be to exercise and burn a certain number of calories each day. The lead measures are predictive in that nailing them all but guarantees success with achieving goals.
I love watching the numbers on the scale go lower each time I step on them. And I love to see the light bulbs turn on with clients when they see the power they get from clarifying what is most important (WIG), and then focusing their energy to drive their lead measures daily! In our example of the revenue WIG above, the lead measures included a marketing campaign targeting consumers and an in-store education program targeting retailers.
3. Create a tracker/scoreboard to see your progress: Create a simple and easy way to monitor your progress at a glance. Progress toward achieving your WIG can be expressed however you want. Make a table or use a calendar that allows you to chart your weekly progress against each of your lead measures. You can check off the boxes or put in actual figures as a percent of your expected lead measures.
4. Establish a weekly rhythm of accountability: A research study by Dominican University has proven the efficacy of having clearly written goals and creating visibility and accountability with a third party. The study revealed that people’s unwritten or intentional goals are only achieved about 42% of the time. Goals that are personally written out but don’t include a third-party accountability partner are achieved 51% of the time. That’s better, but writing out your goals and sharing them with a third party with whom you regularly check in results in a 76% rate of success.
Do you want to see where you stand on the issue of focus? Take a moment and reflect on whether the following statements are true or false:
I know my one thing (or cornerstone habit) that lowers my inner resistance and creates flow with my other important daily drivers.
I maintain alignment with my priorities amidst the daily whirlwind and in the face of competing demands.
I consistently bring my best energy to my lead measures that leverage the 80/20 rule.
I effectively adapt and refocus in the face of unexpected challenges and changes.
If any of these statements ring false to you, then I urge you to take the full assessment at the link below.
Sincerely,
Nick Van Nice, ScalePassion